Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln designed a spintronics transistor that is based on graphene. The researchers say that such a device could be highly efficient, run at room temperature (and above) and feature a nonvolatile on-off current ratio and electrically controllable spin polarization.

The device is based on the discovery that an external voltage can be used to control the magnetic properties of few-layer graphene interfaced with chromium oxide. This is a theoretical research at this stage but the new device structure is expected to feature a large electrically controllable spin current.

Researchers from Spain's ICN2 institute have performed numerical simulations for spin relaxation in graphene/TMDC heterostructures, and found that these structure feature a spin lifetime anisotropy that is orders of magnitude larger than anything observed in 2D materials - and in fact these results point to a qualitatively new regime of spin relaxation.

Spin relaxation lifetime means that time it takes for the spin of electrons in a spin current to lose their spin (return to the natural random disordered state). A long lifetime is very important for spintronics devices. This new study reveals that the rate at which spins relax in graphene/TMDC systems depends strongly on whether they are pointing in or out of the graphene plane, with out-of-plane spins lasting tens or hundreds of times longer than in-plane spins.

Researchers from the University of York and Roma Tre University developed a method to build ultra-low-power transistors using composite materials based on single layers of graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC). These materials can be used to achieve an electrical control over electron spin.

The teams explained “we found this can be achieved with little effort when 2D graphene is paired with certain semiconducting layered materials. Our calculations show that the application of small voltages across the graphene layer induces a net polarization of conduction spins".

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory were able to theoretically calculate the mechanism by which the electronic band structure of graphene could be modified with metal atoms.

The researcher can now study the effect of added metal atoms intercalated between graphene and its silicon carbide substrate. Since these atoms are magnetic, they can also make graphene useful for spintronics applications.

RWTH Aachen University and Germany-based AMO launched a new joint research center with a focus on the science and applications of graphene and related 2D materials. The new center has five founding principal investigators, all members of the $1 billion Graphene Flagship project.

The new center will addressing the challenges of future technology including high-frequency electronics, flexible electronics, energy-efficient sensing, photonics as well as valleytronics and spintronics.

Researchers from the University of Groningen developed a device made by 2D sheets of graphene and Boron-Nitride that showed unprecedented spin transport efficiency at room temperature.

The research, funded by the European Union's $1 billion Graphene Flagship, uses the single-layer graphene as the core material. The researchers say that graphene is a great material for spin transport - but the spin in the graphene cannot be manipulated. To over come this In this device, the graphene is sandwiched between two layers of Boron Nitride and the whole structure rests on silicon.

Researchers from the University of Würzburg developed a new room-temperature 2D topological insulator material that is promising for spintronics applications.

To create this material, the researchers used a single-sheet of bismuth atomsdeposited on a silicon carbide substrate. The silicon carbide structures causes the bismuth atoms to arrange in a honeycomb structure - which resembles the structure of graphene films. The researchers call their new material "bismuthene".

Researchers from Chalmers University developed a new graphene-based room-temperature spin field-effect transistor (G-FET).

As part of the research, it was demonstrated that the spin characteristics of graphene can be electrically regulated in a controlled way, even at an ambient temperature. This structure is not only useful to make spin-logic devices - it can also be used to integrate device-level magnetic memory (MRAM) elements.

Researchers from the University of Texas in Dallas developed an all-carbon spin logic design for a switch that could be the basis of carbon spin logic devices.

The design is based on graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanotubes, which in conjunction can be used to create cascaded logic gates that are not physically linked. The communication between the gates happens via an electromagnetic wave (and does not use any physical movement of electrons), it is anticipated that communication will be much quicker - with the potential for terahertz clock speeds. The size of these logic gates will be much smaller than silicon based gates.

Researchers from the NUS discovered that manipulating the electron spin lowers the contact resistance in graphene electronics.

Graphene is an excellent conductor, but metal-graphene interfaces suffer from large electrical resistance. The researchers have shown that edga-contacted device geometries in metallic-graphene interfaces feature some of the lowest contact resistances reported to date - significantly lower than in surface-contracted interfaces. The researchers explain that this is due to the different behavior of electron spins in these geometries.